More recently I became aware that there are all these other movements in restorative justice.\u00a0 In fact, the voices seem to be most vibrant outside of criminal justice, like in schools; even environmental conservation officers and all kinds of groups like dispute resolution centers are really grabbing hold.\u00a0 But they are saying,\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re not in the justice system, so let\u2019s call it restorative practices and apply what we\u2019ve learned from restorative justice to a new context.\u201d<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n Restorative justice provides a gateway for people to look at the world through a new lens that goes far beyond criminal justice:\u00a0 it applies to everyday life as we negotiate our social relationships.\u00a0 We need to do it in all of life.\u00a0 So in our enthusiasm – myself included – we have kept the word restorative and put it in front of much of the good work we are doing that involves people, repair and relationship building. <\/em><\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n Suddenly I\u2019ve had to step back and ask, \u201cWhy are we hanging on to the word \u2018restorative\u2019 and not the word \u2018justice?\u2018\u00a0 Is it important to keep the term restorative justice?\u00a0 When we use the word restorative without the word justice, are we still talking about the same thing?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n I think that when many of us were introduced to restorative justice, we fell in love with the values and the amazing transformations we saw happening.\u00a0 We then say, \u201cWow, this restorative justice is really onto something. There in action are the values I want to see in life.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n But if we attach the word restorative to all the good relationship-based work we are doing, if we start saying it\u2019s about restorative \u201cpractices\u201d and restorative \u201caction,\u201d I\u2019m nervous\u00a0 that we\u2019re going to lose an important piece of what the movement could accomplish – which is focusing on justice issues. <\/em><\/em><\/p>\n Instead we\u2019ll be taking these principles and doing great work but it may not have much to do with justice anymore.\u00a0 Or we\u2019ll be at risk of distilling restorative justice down to practices like victim offender mediation or circles; we\u2019ll stop having a dialogue around \u201cwhat is justice\u201d and only discuss \u201cwhat is restorative.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n It may be that it is easier to focus on restorative because it\u2019s the nice value stuff but it\u2019s harder to focus on justice because that may start to involve power issues.\u00a0 And it might get personal: \u00a0 where do we personally hold power and privilege, and how does justice and injustice show up in our own lives?\u00a0 That\u2019s harder to confront than, \u201cHow am I being restorative?\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n If justice is about bringing fairness and right relationships into being, it often means that we have to give things up.\u00a0 We have to give up privilege to bring justice into situations.\u00a0 Many of us leading the restorative justice movement are privileged.\u00a0 What about our own place in all this?\u00a0 Where might we be ignoring the justice issues in our own lives? <\/em><\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n I\u2019m not accusing anyone or putting myself out of this.\u00a0 It\u2019s just that I don\u2019t see that conversation happening very often anymore: \u00a0 How am I living justly?\u00a0 Where am I contributing to injustice in the way I treat people I\u2019m around, in the systems I\u2019m in?\u00a0 In my relationship to the earth?\u00a0 Those are all justice questions and I don\u2019t see many of us asking these questions under a \u201crestorative\u201d as opposed to a \u201crestorative justice\u201d framework.<\/em><\/p>\n More questions need to be asked about how is it that we\u2019re hanging onto the restorative language and not the justice language. I want to see people asking questions about what the justice piece is in all this – I\u2019d like to see this question come back to the forefront of the movement.\u00a0 Are we parting ways with the justice aspect?\u00a0 How can we keep the justice aspect alive?<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n I don\u2019t want to give the wrong impression.\u00a0 I think people should continue to do the good work they are drawn to do, AND we need a serious discussion on what is restorative, what is justice,and\u00a0 where we are going.\u00a0 It\u2019s time to check in with the vision.\u00a0 The vision is widening and going in many directions—there are lots of good things about that, but let\u2019s be clear about the implications and explore the possible consequences.<\/em><\/p>\n Below is Catherine’s choice of portrait from Salt Spring Island:<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Following the recent 2nd Annual Conference of Restorative Justice Practices International I had the privilege of spending several days on Salt Spring Island off the coast of Vancouver, British Columbia, with three experienced restorative justice practitioners who are former students of mine – Catherine Bargen, Aaron Lyons and Matthew Hartman.\u00a0 Our conversations were wide-ranging while....<\/p>![\"This](\"http:\/\/emu.edu\/blog\/restorative-justice\/files\/2009\/07\/catherine.jpg\")
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